One million hotspots for Skype Wi-Fi

Dubbed by developers as the "must-have" app for international travellers with iOS-powered gadgets, the Skype Wi-Fi app is ready for Apple's mobile operating system.

(Credit: Skype)

The app itself is quite simple to figure out, especially if you're already a Skype subscriber using the regular calling apps on smartphones, tablets or desktop/laptop computers.

Pricing for wireless access via the Skype app ranges from six cents per minute to 24 cents a minute, and users will only be charged for the amount of minutes that one is connected. That means that users won't have to pay for a lump sum of time, and then let the rest go to waste if they don't have the time or need to talk for long. Additionally, there are no uploading or downloading limits.

However, each session can only last a maximum of 30 minutes. At that point, the user will be disconnected and asked to reconnect. That could be a hassle for users with a long layover, or when working from a convention centre.

Skype's Wi-Fi app is supported at more than one million wireless hotspots globally, in places such as airports, train stations, convention centres, hotels, restaurants and bars, among elsewhere.

Australian users will be able to access the service at Tomizone, WLAN, iBahn and FON wireless hotspots.

Skype Wi-Fi for iOS is now available to download from iTunes for free. The app is compatible with any iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch running iOS 4.1 or higher (although there is a discrepancy on the iTunes product page on the left side bar under "Requirements").

Don't forget that you'll need to have a Skype account with Skype credit (which does cost money) before you can make use of this app.

This latest announcement for Skype on iOS follows the introduction of Skype with video calling for Android smartphones running Froyo and Gingerbread.

Via ZDNet US